Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (November 3, 1921 - August 30, 2003) was an American actor of "tough guy" roles. In most of his roles he starred as a brutal police detective, a western gunfighter, or a mafia hitman. He was blunt, physically powerful, and had a look of danger that fit such roles.
In 1943, Bronson was drafted into the Air Force and served as a tail gunner onboard B29 bombers.
Although he began his career in America, Bronson first made a serious name for himself acting in European films. He became quite famous on that continent, and was known by two interesting nicknames: The Italians called him "Il Brutto" ("The Ugly") and to the French he was known as "le sacre monstre," the "sacred monster." Even though he was not yet a headliner in America, his overseas fame earned him a 1971 Golden Globe as the "Most Popular Actor in the World." That same year, he wondered if he was "too masculine" to ever become a star in the US. Bronson's most famous films include The Great Escape, in which he played Danny Velinski nicknamed "The Tunnel King", a Polish prisoner of war, The Dirty Dozen, in which he played a death row convict conscripted into a World War II suicide mission. In the westerns The Magnificent Seven and the epic Once Upon a Time in the West, he played heroic gunfighters, taking up the cause of the defenseless. He is also remembered for the Death Wish series, in which he played a man who was a liberal New York architect until his wife was murdered and daughter raped. He became a crime-fighting vigilante by night, a highly controversial role, as his executions were cheered by crime-weary audiences. After the famous case of Bernhard Goetz, the actor recommended that people not imitate his character. Bronson was married to actress Jill Ireland from 1968 until her death in 1990. She was his second wife. He met her when she was still married to actor David McCallum. At the time, Bronson bluntly told McCallum: "I'm going to marry your wife." Two years later, he made good on his boast and married Jill. Bronson died of pneumonia while suffering from Alzheimer's disease at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles, California. He is survived by his wife Kim, 4 children, 2 stepchildren & 2 grandchildren. A stepson, Jason McCallum Bronson, preceded him in death after succumbing to a drug overdose in 1989.
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